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Casual Friday, L Street

Posted on December 14, 2007
Filed Under Men, On The Street | 7 Comments

His coat is from Zara (London…he had the accent to match) and the jean jacket is actually part of the coat and can be removed for a more dressy look.

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VERSE Magazine Gives Good Party

Posted on December 13, 2007
Filed Under Around Town, Men, Women | 10 Comments

Astrid Parker and Addia Cooper-Henry of VERSE.

Sorry for the late-ish post today…at noon-something, my coffee is finally kicking in. Does anyone else worry about becoming addicted to caffeine? I guess there are worse things…

Last night after the Toys for Tots fundraiser I headed over to The Park for the launch of VERSE Magazine, a new glossy (well, kinda new. It’s been around on & off for the past few years) that caters to the “young elite of Washington, D.C.” That’s a pretty grandiose statement for sure, and who knows how successful the venture will ultimately be, but one thing is certain: the folks behind VERSE certainly give good party. It was refreshing to attend a local magazine party that didn’t take itself too seriously. Maybe it’s because the crowd skewed somewhat younger, but in general there was a lot less standing-around-and-staring-at-one-another and quite a bit more smiling and dancing (loved the retro tunes at the beginning of the night).

There were also more good-looking and well-dressed men there than I’ve perhaps ever seen in one place at once. Lots of sharply-cut suits, interesting color and pattern combinations, hats. As I look through the rather limited, I admit, selection of photos I snapped last night, it seems that a larger-than-representative number of the men were wearing bowties. I wish I’d taken more pictures, but it was so crowded in there that snapping full-length pics felt next to impossible! Lots of boldfaced and hoping-to-be-boldfaced names were running around, Tony Cord being perhaps the most intriguing of the lot.

His may have been one of my favorite looks of the night. This photograph hardly does it justice, unfortunately, but I’m a huge fan of his Boss jacket, thrift vest, Tsubi jeans, and skinny skinny tie. I’ve seen him around now at a few parties, and he always looks polished without ever looking too fussy.

For once, Tara is not wearing red lipstick and I am. For always, she looked great in a long black strapless tiered dress and the shiniest hair in the entire metro area.

Blonde-with-brains Katherine Kennedy two hours after arriving back in town from London…looking just as dewy as ever. Damn!

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At the Black Cat

Posted on December 12, 2007
Filed Under Around Town, Men, Women | Leave a Comment

These adorable whimsical pieces are made by Daisy Lacy (left), who co-owns the recently re-opened Smash! Records on 18th Street. She sells her wares there in addition to an assortment of new and vintage finds for ladies and gents. Oh, and music too!

If I rocked red pants, I would look nowhere near as coolly laid-back as this girl. I love that she wears them as casually as she might wear a regular ol’ pair of blue denim jeans.

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Fibula Launch & MaxMara Show

Posted on December 12, 2007
Filed Under Around Town, Events, Women | 7 Comments

One of my favorites. I.want.it.

My friend Sarah has this parking protocol: drive right up to the front of your destination and then fan out to scout for parking from there. I know that it sounds obvious, but it has worked on several unlikely occasions, including last night when I spotted a Georgetown undergrad getting into her Jetta right at 34th & Prospect and pulled a classic city-driver move: U-turn in the middle of the street, turn on turn-signal, throw car into reverse.

I think she was a little freaked out, but sometimes a girl needs to be aggressive.

I even wore my adorable-but-comfy patent shooties (props to Anthropologie for that name) in case I had to hoof it for several uneven-brick-sidewalk blocks.

The Halcyon House is the amazing private home/gallery/studio space that hosted the Fibula launch last night (I know it’s the name of a bone. But it’s also apparently a very gorgeous and expensive line of jewelry sold only at MaxMara). The evening was presented by the Creative Coalition, who will receive 15 percent of Fibula sales for December.

I’ve been to a few runway shows here in DC now – some of them pretty good, some of them Fisher Price My First Runway Show. This one set the current bar a good several notches higher: the show didn’t go on too long, the models all looked like they knew what they were doing, and the overall staging was gorgeous. It didn’t hurt, of course, that the clothes were MaxMara….and that Ayo and Adrian from Dissident Display DJd…

Ultimately, everyone sitting there had that aren’t-I-fabulous-that-I’m-sitting here look about them. And really, isn’t that the point?

Lots to look at after the jump:
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Sneak Peek: Tonight’s Fibula/MaxMara Show

Posted on December 12, 2007
Filed Under Around Town, Events | 2 Comments

Aba getting a set of models ready

View from the front row

It’s 12:51 AM and I’m going a little cross-eyed, but I wanted to give you all a little sneak preview of the Fibula/MaxMara event held earlier tonight at the ridiculously gorgeous Halcyon House in Georgetown.

That’s right dear reader, breasts with your morning coffee!

More in the morning, after I eat, have coffee, and drink my weight in pink grapefruit CVS-brand Airborne since I’m totally coming down with a cold. Dammit! You know what though? Pink grapefruit fake Airborne is kind of good. Well, in a medicine kind of way. Sweet dreams!

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For Thursday: Realm & DeNada

Posted on December 11, 2007
Filed Under Men, Shopping Events & News, Women | 2 Comments

This trunk show at Transformer would be a great opportunity to snag great last-minute holiday gifts (or who are we kidding…start shopping…madly…for anything that works…for like $50 or less) from local designers and PB faves Jesse Walker of Realm and Virginia Arrisueno (and Kelly Towles – who designs the DeNada T-shirts and who lends a certain street cred) of DeNada. PB was an early fan of Realm (and also of Jesse, he is a real sweetie) – you really have to check out his stuff in person. It’s really pretty rockstar and not for the shy. Virginia’s line just keeps expanding and getting better and better. Her braided scarves are squishy-soft and would look equally fantastic on a man or a woman. The airplane scarves are wonderfully playful and the graphic element adds a great pop to an outfit. I recently saw Marshall from The District Line wearing it. Speaking of, another one of my favorite gift options for guys this year are The District Line soccer scarves Marshall commissioned just for his store. Go by and check ‘em out – they’re only $25!

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Project Beltway Does the Holidays: What a Girl Wants

Posted on December 10, 2007
Filed Under Everything Else, Men, Shopping Events & News, Women | 11 Comments

Let’s talk holiday gifts today!

On Wednesday I’ll be talking to a roomful of men about what women want for the holidays at an event in Virginia supporting Toys for Tots. The event is hosted by Brian and David – the Guys from Be Better Guys – as well as The School of Postmodern Dating, NBC4 and DC STYLE.

It’s at the Clarendon Grill (1101) N. Highland Street in Arlington) from 6:30 – 9, and the goal is to collect 200 toys for underprivileged children in the greater Washington Metro area. In addition to bringing a toy, a $20 donation at the door automatically enters attendees into a raffle with $4,000 worth of merchandise, including a men’s Tag Heuer watch from Boone and Sons and a month-long membership to Sports Club LA (and a complimentary squash lesson with a top-rated squash pro). Best of all, all proceeds will benefit Toys for Tots.

No, I take that back – best of all, every guy there will walk away with the knowledge that you do NOT want to receive a bath set from Bath & Body works this year. Nor do you want earrings in the shape of dolphins, as one well-meaning high school boyfriend of mine apparently thought.

Ladies, let this be your sounding board. What is the best gift you’ve ever received? What would be your dream gift? What does a girl want? Guys, did you give a gift that went over really well?

I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, and a lot of it boils down to a few principles:

Again, no pre-packaged bath sets. She is a lady and probably doesn’t want to smell like fire-roasted vanilla bean or whatever.

Jewelry: It’s really hard to buy jewelry for someone else, so you might want to steer clear unless you really know what you’re doing. That being said, I don’t see anything wrong with a gorgeous set of diamond studs if she doesn’t already have them. Clearly, this is the kind of gift reserved for a ladyfriend you’re in a serious relationship with. Not the girl you communicate with almost exclusively through text messages.

Think in terms of something that makes her feel pampered – spa anything, a gorgeous throw for her bed or couch. You can never go wrong with cashmere. J.Crew has cashmere slippers for $50 that would be perfect for padding around the apartment or for tucking into a travel bag.

ANY girl will tell you that the best gifts are the ones that are thoughtful. I had barely begun a relationship with someone when he showed up at my doorstep with a gorgeous potted orchid. I didn’t even remember mentioning that I liked them. He was also listening when I mentioned that I loved the violin and wished I could play. He got us tickets to a show at the Kennedy Center (he also knew I’d like the getting-dressed-up element). Think about what she likes. Does she love to watch the Food Network? Well aren’t you a lucky bastard. Think about trying to land tickets to a taping, or sign the two of you up for cooking classes at a local cooking school. What did she like when she was a kid? If you can take her back to the blissful innocence of childhood, she’s yours.

If all else fails, invite her out this weekend for a beautiful brunch and an afternoon of strolling and window-shopping in a neighborhood like Georgetown or U Street. If she looks at something and says some variation of “this is so cute!!” then take note and come back later to purchase.

If that fails, call up her best friend and ask what they suggest. You are friends with her best friend, aren’t you?! You’ll score major points with them both.

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